Smoky and the binned it

One thing I can’t figure about smokers is why the majority I’ve seen think that chucking a fag end out of the car window or throwing it on the street floor, stubbing it out with a heel and walking away is not littering. Surely throwing anything on the floor in a public space is littering?

I wonder where this act came from and when it became acceptable behaviour. Do we have movies to blame for this paragon of cool? Or the news media in general for glorifying smoking as an acceptable lifestyle choice.

Perhaps smokers are just lazy by nature and can’t be arsed to find a suitable stub zone? Are there not enough legitimate places to extinguish a cigarette in the street or in vehicles? Do smokers see the act as somehow safer because in the street it’s less likely to set fire to other things than if put in a real bin?

There must be a reason for it that I’m missing. Come on smokers, defend yourselves and put me straight on why it’s the right thing to do.